We are studying spiritual disciplines at school this year. The school has assigned a different discipline to each month. We look at them as a faculty and we emphasize those with our students each month.
So I got to thinking, what is discipline. Discipline is something that no one likes but that everyone admires in someone else. Discipline is hard work done for the sake of excellence.
It takes discipline to study for a test. It takes discipline to exercise each day. (please don’t go there right now!) It takes discipline to eat correctly.
Athletes exert discipline in their practice. Musicians discipline themselves to practice. It is as they practice that they get better at their sport or their music.
Do you know anyone who you really respect for their scripture memory or their walk with God. That just didn’t happen. It came with discipline.
Paul tells Timothy “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;” (1 Timothy 4:7)
Godliness is different than athletics or music. No one may know about our disciplining ourselves in godliness. It is usually done in secret and has no public performance. It’s just between you and God.
Remember that our end goal is to know God intimately.
“[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]” Philippians 3:10 Amplified Version
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